Short answer: seeing China in the country list or a UnionPay logo at Claude checkout does not mean Claude is available there. The dropdown and the logo show what the payment processor can bill; Anthropic’s Supported Regions Policy decides who may use Claude, and it goes by where you are physically located. On 2026-10-30 (Pacific time) the list included Taiwan but not mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, and the policy had not changed to match the checkout. If you are in a supported country and your card is still declined, the usual cause on our cards is a balance that does not cover the taxed amount.
Written by the Pink Card team (pinkcard.cc). The checkout change comes from an IT Home report on 2026-10-24, republished by Sina Tech; we did not test the checkout from each country. The policy is quoted from anthropic.com/supported-countries, checked on 2026-10-30 (PT). Charge data covers every Claude charge on cards we issued between 2026-08-01 and 2026-10-30 (UTC), with no customer details.
Three things on a checkout page, three different owners
- Country / region dropdown: set by the payment processor and its tax setup. It means the processor can calculate tax and issue an invoice for that billing country.
- Card network logos (Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay and so on): set by which networks the processor accepts. It means a card of that type can technically be charged.
- Whether you may use Claude: set by Anthropic’s terms and its Supported Regions Policy. Checkout does not decide this.
Processors are usually wired up the same way worldwide, so a new country in the dropdown or a new logo is a capability of the payment layer, not a decision to open the service. The Sina Tech report itself notes that Anthropic’s Help Center still requires users to be in a supported region.
What the Supported Regions Policy says
- Title: Supported Regions Policy. The version shown on 2026-10-30 is dated Nov 12, 2026.
- Scope: Claude.ai, Claude Code, Cowork and other apps, the API and developer platform, and Claude models offered through cloud platforms and authorized resellers are available only in the listed countries and regions. Territories of a listed country count too (the example given is Puerto Rico).
- “Any country or region not listed is unsupported.” The policy spells out that this includes “use by persons while physically located in an unsupported region, including users and personnel of otherwise supported entities.”
- Listed: Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, the United States and many more. Not listed: mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau.
So the test is where you are when you use Claude, not where your card was issued or which billing address you type. A UnionPay card that goes through at checkout does not change that.
What we saw on our cards (last 90 days)
Pink Card is a Mastercard / Visa card, not UnionPay, so our data cannot tell you whether UnionPay cards get through. It shows what goes wrong once a card is on file and Claude tries to charge it. Period: 2026-08-01 to 2026-10-30 (UTC).
- Claude subscriptions (ANTHROPIC* CLAUDE SUB): 43 successful charges on 30 cards, $5,196.58 in total; all but 2 records billed in US dollars.
- By size: about $20, 12 charges (9 exactly $20); about $100, 11 (7 exactly $100); about $200, 17 (13 exactly $200); 3 others ($80.01, $133.31, $147.57). Taxed amounts we saw: $21.00, $21.78, $105, $106.25, $108.88, $210, $218 and $220.
- 50 declines on 10 cards. 40 (8 cards) were the balance being short: “cumulative amount limit” 22, “maximum single transaction value” 14, “monthly transaction amount limit” 2, “Insufficient funds” 2. 7 were expiry-date check failures on one card. 3 were “Blocked” on 2 cards.
- None of the 50 decline reasons mention region. Attempts stopped on the Claude checkout page never reach the card, so we cannot see them, and these numbers say nothing about who the checkout accepts.
- Of the 8 cards declined for low balance, 5 later paid Claude on the same card, 4 of them after a top-up landed.
- 16 Claude subscription charges on 12 cards were reversed (money back to the card), 15 of them in October. The transaction record does not say why.
- Console API credits (ANTHROPIC SAN FRANCISCO): 6 successful charges on 5 cards, $286.04. Claude subscribed through Google Play: 6 attempts, 5 declined and 1 reversed, none kept.
Every decline reason and how each low-balance case ended: Claude Code payment failed
In a supported country and still declined? Check these
- Read the decline reason in the card’s transaction history. Any of the four balance reasons means top up; “Blocked” means the card can no longer be used, so add another card.
- Cover the taxed amount. Claude’s prices are before tax, and tax follows the billing address. Keep the taxed price + $1 per charge, plus the $2.50 monthly fee: Pro at 10% tax is $22 + $1.
- Enter the billing address exactly as the card issuer gave it. A mismatched address only makes a decline more likely and does not change which region you are in.
- Submit once after the money is on the card. Each attempt on our cards costs $1, declined ones included (at most 3 declined charges per card per month).
- Subscribe on the web at claude.ai rather than in the Android or iPhone app. App subscriptions are billed by Google Play or Apple, and none of the Google Play attempts on our cards stuck.
Charged $21.78 or $220 instead of the list price: Why AI subscriptions charge more than the price
Already subscribed and the renewal failed: Claude Pro renewal payment failed
Top up the same card
- Open pinkcard.cc/en, click “Balance & Top Up” at the top, and enter the 16-digit card number and the 3-digit lookup code (the card’s CVV).
- Choose an amount (minimum $30) and pay with USDT on ERC-20 or BEP-20, USDC on ERC-20, or Alipay.
- Top-up cost: $5 plus 5% of (top-up amount + $5). $30 → $36.75, $110 → $120.75, $230 → $246.75.
- Usually on the card within 5–10 minutes. The card number does not change, so claude.ai keeps billing the same card.
Already have a Pink Card? Enter the card number and lookup code to top up this card
New card (disclosure: this is our product)
Pink Card is a prepaid USD virtual card (Mastercard / Visa), made mainly for AI subscriptions such as ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor. It has no official relationship with Anthropic. It is a payment tool for people in supported countries whose own cards are refused; it does not change any platform’s regional rules.
- Choose an amount on pinkcard.cc/en: presets start at $110 ($110, $220, $500, $1000), or enter a custom amount from $100.
- Pay with USDT on BEP-20 or ERC-20, or USDC on ERC-20. The card number, expiry, CVV and billing address arrive by email about 1–2 minutes after the payment confirms.
- Card issuance: $10 one-time, plus a 3% service fee on (card amount + $10). A $110 card costs $123.60.
- From the card balance: $1 per transaction (declined ones too, at most 3 declined charges per card per month) and $2.50 per month. Full fee table: pinkcard.cc/en/fees.
- Once the card details are emailed, the order cannot be cancelled, so double-check your email address before paying.
Chinese version (中文版，付款方式按中文站): Claude 付款页出现银联和中国地区选项，到底能不能付